Bleach: Consumption
by CursedCanine
Summary: [Forgive me for the title ; ] Set before Ichigo and friends found out about the Quincy invasion of Huecu Mundo. This story revolves around Tashida and his survival in a world where to survive, one must consume... Much darker and more mature than the series, so fair warning.


**AN: Few things I should note before you read the story. First, when I wrote the part concerning Akira, I was incredibly tired so I apologize in advance if it wasn't written well. Second, I'll be writing this as if it were the English Dubbed version. :L Meaning, there won't be any suffixes or stuff found in the Japanese version. Not because I prefer one over the other, but I'm not well-versed in the Japanese customs so…yeah. I will retain some words though that I just prefer to the English version. **

"Akira Natsume! Fifth seat from the fifth division!" The young Shinigami declared to his senior officer, who merely shook his head.

"Easy kid, there's no ranks in this squad," the senior Shinigami told Akira, laughing at the young shinigami's enthusiasm. "You're also no longer from the fifth division, alright? While in this squad, you belong with us. So, let's try this again. Kid, the name's Takai Oshiro. Be sure to remember it."

"Yes sir," Akira replied, slightly embarrassed.

"Good. Now, everyone get ready. Where we're going, one wrong move will get you killed. Or worse," Takai warned, looking at the rest of his squad. Altogether, there were six men and two women. Of them, Akira was definitely the youngest and least experienced. Why he was chosen to go on this mission was a mystery to him, and he suspected, to his comrades.

"Let's move out!" Takai dashed through the tear that opened up in the air, followed by the rest of his squad. Akira was the last to go, and when he went through, what he saw shocked him. White sand rested beneath his feet and stretched out as far as the eye could see, and Akira suspected that it stretched even further than that.

"Woah…" was all he could say about it.

"Beautiful, ain't it?" Rinka, one of the women, said as she stood beside Akira. "But don't let its appearance fool you. This place…one wrong step, and you'll be swallowed up it. This place…Huecu Mundo…I swear, it's like the land itself is a hollow."

"Oi! What're you two love birds doin' back 'der, huh?!" Asuka, the other female, shouted from a distance in front of them. "Get 'yer stinkin' asses up here!"

Rinka let out a sigh and gave Akira a warm smile. "Come on, we should go join the others," she told him and headed off in Asuka's direction. Akira watched her, a light blush on his cheeks. He had always admired Rinka from afar, but recently he had been placed in situations that required the two to converse. She wasn't outstandingly beautiful, but she was still quite pretty. Her dark hair reached just past her shoulders and held streaks of purple in them, while her eyes were a deep sea-green. Her body was small and thin, although she had some curves. Her attire consisted of the usual Shinigami outfit—a black kimono with a white undershirt.

"Akira! What're ya doin'? Pick up the pace damn it!" Asuka shouted, to which Akira responded by immediately making his way across the sand until he was standing beside the two women. "Jeez, took you long enough. The others went on ahead to check out a cave entrance."

Akira looked to where Asuka directed him, his gaze landing on a small mound close to their position, with a hole at the bottom which he assumed was the entrance to the cave the others had ventured into.

"C'mon damn it!" Asuka bellowed, dashing across the sands towards the cave entrance. Rinka followed her and Akira after that. The trio vanished into the darkness, before emerging minutes later into a clearing, surrounded by a mixture of trees and large rocks.

Akira looked around, confused. "Where…are we?"

"A different area. Quite possibly near the forest," Rinka muttered, her hand going to the hilt of her Zanpakutō. "Careful…Something is coming."

Akira gulped nervously, before he and Asuka joined Rinka in preparing to unsheathe their weapons. The seconds passed in total silence, the three Shinigami keeping their senses alert for any sign of incoming danger.

Suddenly, Takai burst into view, sweat pouring from his face. His eyes frantically searched the area before settling on the three, recognition setting in. "You guys, they're everywhere! We need-" He was unable to complete the rest of his sentence as an arm pierced his chest from behind. Takai merely stared at it in both shock and wonder, before his head vanished within the jaws of a large bear-like hollow.

Akira's eyes widened as he watched the leader of his squad get devoured before his very eyes while Rinka began to scream. Asuka merely stood there, like Akira, staring at the scene in shock. None of them could move, even as more hollows began appearing.

"Ho-ho! Looky what we got here!" One of them crowed, a rather small hollow in comparison to the others who were all rather large. Yet all of them were Adjuchas.

"I-I d-don't…" Rinka stuttered, but was unable to finish her sentence. Her words, however, did attract one of the larger Adjuchas, who appeared to be the leader.

"Hmm? My, you look tasty," he growled, a long tongue extending from his mouth which slowly licked her face. "Tasty." The Adjuchas chuckled darkly, before a sudden appearance of Akira's Zanpakutō made him take a few steps back.

"K-ke-keep your filthy hands off, y-y-you damn, dirty h-hollow!" Akira shouted, standing in front of Rinka protectively. _I won't let them hurt you, Rinka. Not while I'm still alive_, he told himself in his mind.

"Stinkin' Shingami!" Another Adjuchas shouted and shot forward, easily knocking Akira away before jumping over Rinka and clamping his jaws over Asuka's shoulder. The crunch of her bones breaking as he bit into her resounded throughout the area, and within the blink of an eye, Asuka's entire right arm had been ripped off. She released a shriek as the Adjuchas devoured her arm, blood spurting from her body. Her screams didn't last long as the Adjuchas quickly moved on from the arm and began devouring the rest of her.

Akira watched in horror as his comrade was eaten, but he now had his own troubles to worry about. The small Adjuchas had begun advancing on him, while the Adjuchas leader had returned his attention to Rinka, who merely stood there with her hand on her Zanpakutō, frozen in fear.

"Oooohohoho! I'm going to _really _enjoy this!" The small Adjuchas screeched, before charging at Akira.

Akira dived out of the way but by the time he recovered, the small Adjuchas was already upon him. Using his blade to keep the distance between them, Akira tried to think of a way out of this. How could they escape this situation? He took a quick glance in Rinka's direction, but all he could see was the Adjuchas leader.

"Eyes here **boyyy**!" The small Adjuchas quickly overpowered Akira and swiped at him with his claws, creating deep gashes along Akira's upper body.

Akira stumbled back, tears forming at the corner of his eyes. _I don't want to die, I don't want to die…_Those thoughts kept repeating over and over in his head, and then a thought occurred to him. _There is a way…I can beat them!_

"Oh? The boy's changed?" The small Adjuchas noted, cocking his head to the side and gazing at him through the skull-like mask. "_Lovely_."

"Extinguish the flame," Akira began, glaring intensely at the small Adjuchas. "Vanquish the storm, and bring-!" His chant to bring out his shikai was interrupted as his Zanpakutō clattered to the ground. Akira raised his arms and stared at the bloody stumps where his hands used to be, blood dripping from them.

"Sowwy?" The small Adjuchas said whilst munching on Akira's hands. "You wash shaying shometing?"

Akira let out an ear-piercing scream as he fell to his knees, no longer able to hold the tears back. _So close…so close…don't die…don't die…I don't…want to die…_

The air around him began to thicken, making it harder to breathe. Was it something that happened upon death? _No…they're affected too…_The Adjuchas hollows had begun coughing, and fear immediately welled up in them.

"No…No, _he's_ here! Run!" They shrieked, but suddenly blood spurted from each of them, and they instantly fell to the ground, dead. Standing a few feet away from Akira was a…man? He appeared human, his body tall and lean with multiple scars covering his torso, which was bare. His lower body was covered in rags which appeared to have been created from the skin of dead hollows. His spiky, raven black hair cascaded down his back to his waist, and upon turning to face Akira, revealed black pupils, yellow irises, and black sclera. The most intriguing thing, however, was the katana fastened to the man's waist. _Was he a Shinigami?!_

As the man made his way over to Akira, all the young Shinigami could do was watch and slowly suffocate as it became near-impossible to breathe now.

"You…are not a hollow," the man muttered, gazing at Akira with slight curiosity. Then that curiosity turned to sadness. "I…am sorry…but I cannot save you. You are…already dead." The man crouched down in front of Akira, the sadness now changed to pity. "I will end it quickly."

Akira wanted to argue, to fight his words, but in the end, all he could do was close his eyes and nod, more tears streaming down his face. He heard the movements of the man's hand as it withdraw his sword, and again as the blade sliced through the air. A brief moment of pain, and then warmth spread throughout his body.

"Akira?" A familiar voice echoed, and then the warmth left him…

* * *

"Tadashi!" Amida whined, floating around the male with a pout. Tadashi's Zanpakuto spirit took on the form of a young girl with silvery purple hair that reached to her feet and was garbed in a simple white dress.

"Yes, Amida?" Tadashi responded in a rather bored tone, his black and yellow eyes staring at her bright blue ones.

"Ahriman's being mean to me!" she cried, throwing her arms Tadashi's neck and hanging off him as he continued to walked across the white sands. "He won't share the meal you gave us!"

Just then, another spirit appeared beside Tadashi, this one appearing exactly like Tadashi but with his colours inverted. His skin was white, as was his hair, while the rags he wore were white in comparison to the black ones worn by Tadashi. His body was also devoid of any scars, and his eyes were eerily different compared to the rest of him – like Amida, he held bright blue eyes with white sclera.

"I gave you enough," Ahriman stated coolly. "You are just greedy and desire more than what you need."

Amida glared at Ahriman before pouting and swinging herself up until she was sitting on Tadashi's shoulder. "Stupid Ahriman…"

"You feel guilty over the young boy?" Ahriman seemed to ask, although it was spoken more as a statement.

"Guilt…is that what this feeling is?" Tadashi pondered, looking down at his hand thoughtfully. "I have never felt such an emotion before…why am I experiencing it now?"

Ahriman didn't answer immediately, instead releasing a sigh as he scratched the back of his head and turned his gaze to the sky. "Hollows eating hollows, it is a natural process. But he was not a hollow, and yet due to the nature of this world, you devoured him too," Ahriman explained, before looking over at Tadashi. "You can remember your mother, and she was the same type of being as those who died. Perhaps you feel guilty because a part of you, however faint, felt a kinship with the boy. Perhaps you desired to save him, but you were too late and instead, were forced to consume his power for your own."

Tadashi stared at his hand sadly, and he could feel the eyes of his spirits on him, pitying him. Even Amida, was normally cheerful and childlike, was looking at him with a sad expression.

"Tadashi…" Amida muttered, before her voice took on a more alarmed tone. "Tadashi!"

Tadashi looked up, and in the distance he could see a cloud of dust heading in his direction. He immediately gripped the hilt of his katana, his expression changing from its somber appearance to a more serious one. "Get ready," he told the two, although they had already disappeared.

After a few minutes, Tadashi could make out what was causing the dust cloud. A young child with green hair, a scar coming down from her forehead to her nose, a crimson line which stretched across her face beneath her eyes, a cartoon-like mask on her head and dressed in a simple green gown, was running towards him with tears streaming from her eyes. Behind her where three hollows – a short one, a large one, and a snake-like one.

Neither of them seemed to take much notice of Tashida, until the child ended up running into him and falling back. The other three gasped and immediately came to help the child up, although they stopped briefly when Tashida glared at them. Still, even then, they slowly made their way closer. Sighing, Tashida reached down and lifted the child up.

"Who are you?"

"N-N-Nel," the child sobbed, before turning to look at the hollows behind her. "Don, Pe, HELLLLPPPP!" She started wailing and squirmed about trying to get free, while the hollows suddenly started running at Tadashi, attempting to attack him.

"Don't worry Nel! We'll save you!" The small one shouted, and drew his sword, with the blade made up of a blue energy. The blade suddenly changed to a purple energy, and then a purple blast appeared and shot towards Tadashi.

"You idiot!" The large one shouted. "You could hit Nel!"

"Ah, whoops."

Both let out a sigh of relief though as Tadashi easily brushed it aside with his bare hand, allowing it to fly off into the distance and cause a harmless explosion. Then they remembered that the child, Nel, still needed saving, and started running at Tadashi again.

Tadashi released a sigh and then he disappeared, reappearing behind the duo. The snake-like hollow was seemingly staying out of this battle.

"Woah, woah! I'm not going to hurt her," Tadashi told the two, before releasing Nel, who quickly ran over to her…friends?

"Nel!" The duo cried out, happily reunited with their friend.

"Such a lovely reunion," a voice spoke from behind Tadashi, who looked over his shoulder to see who the voice belonged to. The owner appeared to be a teenage male, with curly blue hair that reached down to his shoulders. Beside him were two older males, one with dark hair that was slicked back, and the other who had no hair at all. All three were dressed in white uniforms.

"Who are you?..." Tadashi asked, to which the younger male replied, "I am Benno Hartwig. And I am here to recruit those creatures into his Majesty's army. Now, begone with you while I continue to let you live."

Tadashi glanced back at the trembling hollows, before returning his gaze to the three men. "Sorry, but they will remain with me."

The young male, Benno, was livid and it was evident in his face. "H-How…dare you! Do you know who I am?! I am-!" He was interrupted as Tadashi suddenly appeared before him, bringing his zanpakutō down through Benno's body in a vertical slice, cutting him in half. The other two jumped back and brought strange weapons – bows made out of blue energy.

"Hm?" Tadashi looked at them with an interested expression, before taking a step forward. "Consume Heaven, Amida…" He could hear the excited giggles of Amida in his head, and then he dashed towards the two men…

**AN: So, how was it? Good? Bad? Should I just quit now? :L Please, it would mean a lot to hear your opinion as I do intend to write more chapters and any input would be appreciated. Also, on the note of more chapters, I'm not very good with names and powers (There's that bloody many in the damn series), so I'd love to hear any character ideas you guys have! Heck, even if you've got a zanpakuto idea, send it my way! I'll probably incorporate them all in some form or other if I can. XD **

**Oh, and any title suggestions wouldn't go amiss either. ^^; **

**Anyway, sorry for rambling. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review!**


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